IP Library Granted Patent US 12690012
Granted Patent B2
US 12690012 · App. 18/499,982 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

User equipment aided early paging indicator clustering

Inventor: Ashutosh Vinod Agrawal (Bengaluru, IN)
Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
H04W68/005H04W48/16H04W68/02
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12690012
App. No.
18/499,982
Granted
Jul 21, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may transmit a subgroup preference indication that indicates a UE-preferred subgroup of an early paging indicator (EPI). The UE may receive an EPI subgroup assignment for the I. Numerous other aspects are described.

Claims (71)

1 . A user equipment (UE), comprising:

one or more antennas; and

a processing system, coupled with the one or more antennas, that includes one or more processors and one or more memories that store code for the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the UE to:

receive an indication that a network node supports UE-preferred subgrouping;

transmit, based at least in part on the indication that the network node supports UE-preferred subgrouping, a subgroup preference indication that indicates a UE-preferred subgroup of an early paging indicator (EPI),

wherein the subgroup preference indication specifies at least one of a value or a subgroup ID; and

receive an EPI subgroup assignment for the EPI.

2 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the processing system, to cause the UE to transmit the subgroup preference indication, is configured to cause the UE to:

transmit the subgroup preference indication as part of a non-access stratum (NAS) registration procedure.

3 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the UE to:

receive a subgroup size indication that specifies that the network node supports K EPI subgroups, K being an integer,

wherein the subgroup preference indication is based at least in part on the subgroup size indication.

4 . The UE of claim 3 , wherein the processing system, to cause the UE to receive the subgroup size indication, is configured to cause the UE to:

receive the subgroup size indication in a broadcast message.

5 . The UE of claim 4 , wherein the broadcast message comprises a system information block.

6 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the EPI subgroup assignment comprises a core network-based assignment.

7 . The UE of claim 6 , wherein the core network-based assignment comprises an access and mobility function (AMF)-based assignment.

8 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the EPI subgroup assignment comprises a UE-identifier-based assignment.

9 . The UE of claim 8 , wherein the UE-identifier-based assignment is based at least in part on a serving temporary mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI).

10 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is configured to cause the UE to:

receive the EPI using a bitmap that is based at least in part on the EPI subgroup assignment.

11 . A network node, comprising:

one or more antennas; and

a processing system, coupled with the one or more antennas, that includes one or more processors and one or more memories that store code for the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the network node to:

receive a first subgroup preference indication that is associated with a first user equipment (UE), the first subgroup preference indication indicating a first UE-preferred subgroup of an early paging indicator (EPI);

receive a second subgroup preference indication that is associated with a second UE, the second subgroup preference indication specifying the first UE-preferred subgroup or a second UE-preferred subgroup of the EPI; and

transmit an EPI subgroup assignment that is associated with the EPI.

12 . The network node of claim 11 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the network node to:

transmit the EPI using a bitmap that is based at least in part on using the EPI subgroup assignment.

13 . The network node of claim 11 , wherein the EPI subgroup assignment is based at least in part on the first UE-preferred subgroup.

14 . The network node of claim 11 , wherein the second subgroup preference indication specifies the first UE-preferred subgroup, and

wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the network node to:

group the first UE and the second UE in a same EPI subgroup based at least in part on the first subgroup preference indication and the second subgroup preference indication specifying the first UE-preferred subgroup.

15 . The network node of claim 11 , wherein the EPI subgroup assignment is not based on the first UE-preferred subgroup.

16 . The network node of claim 11 , wherein the second subgroup preference indication specifies the second UE-preferred subgroup, and

wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the network node to:

assign the first UE to a first EPI subgroup; and

assign the second UE to a second EPI subgroup that is different from the first EPI subgroup based at least in part on the first UE-preferred subgroup being different from the second UE-preferred subgroup.

17 . The network node of claim 11 , wherein the processing system, to cause the network node to receive the first subgroup preference indication, is configured to cause the network node to:

receive the first subgroup preference indication as part of a non-access stratum (NAS) registration procedure.

18 . The network node of claim 11 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the network node to:

transmit a subgroup size indication that specifies support for K EPI subgroups, K being an integer.

19 . The network node of claim 11 , wherein the EPI subgroup assignment comprises a core-network-based assignment.

20 . The network node of claim 11 , wherein the EPI subgroup assignment comprises a UE-identifier-based assignment.

21 . A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising:

receiving an indication that a network node supports UE-preferred subgrouping;

transmitting, based at least in part on the indication that the network node supports UE-preferred subgrouping, a subgroup preference indication that indicates a UE-preferred subgroup of an early paging indicator (EPI),

wherein the subgroup preference indication specifies at least one of a value or a subgroup ID; and

receiving an EPI subgroup assignment for the EPI.

22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein transmitting the subgroup preference indication comprises:

transmitting the subgroup preference indication as part of a non-access stratum (NAS) registration procedure.

23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the EPI subgroup assignment comprises a core network-based assignment.

24 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the EPI subgroup assignment comprises a UE-identifier-based assignment.

25 . The method of claim 21 , wherein receiving the EPI comprises:

receiving the EPI using a bitmap that is based at least in part on the EPI subgroup assignment.

26 . A method of wireless communication performed by a network node, comprising:

receiving a first subgroup preference indication that is associated with a first user equipment (UE), the first subgroup preference indication indicating a first UE-preferred subgroup of an early paging indicator (EPI);

receiving a second subgroup preference indication that is associated with a second UE, the second subgroup preference indication specifying the first or a second UE-preferred subgroup; and

transmitting an EPI subgroup assignment that is associated with the EPI.

27 . The method of claim 26 , further comprising:

transmitting the EPI using a bitmap that is based at least in part on using the EPI subgroup assignment.

28 . The method of claim 26 , wherein the EPI subgroup assignment is based at least in part on the first UE-preferred subgroup.

29 . The method of claim 26 ,

wherein the second subgroup preference indication specifies the first UE-preferred subgroup indicated by the first subgroup preference indication, and

wherein the method further comprises:

grouping the first UE and the second UE in a same EPI subgroup based at least in part on the first subgroup preference indication and the second subgroup preference indication specifying a same EPI subgroup preference.

30 . The method of claim 26 ,

wherein the second subgroup preference indication specifies the second UE-preferred subgroup that is different from the first UE-preferred subgroup, and

wherein the method further comprises:

assigning the first UE to a first EPI subgroup; and

assigning the second UE to a second EPI subgroup that is different from the first EPI subgroup based at least in part on the first UE-preferred subgroup being different from the second UE-preferred subgroup.